Freelance Writer

Your at-home learning course includes six Instruction Sets designed to take you step-by-step through the techniques and skills you’ll employ as a Freelance Writer. Your first Instruction Set will be sent to you as soon as your enrolment has been accepted. Other Instruction Sets will follow as soon as you complete your exams, so that you will always have training materials to work with.

You will need access to a Microsoft® Windows®-based computer (running Windows Vista® or later) and the Internet in order to complete your program with ICS Canada.

Instruction Set 1

• Learning Strategies
  • The advantages of learning at home; types of study materials; types of examinations; accessing and using the features of
    our website; determining what kind of learner you are; establishing a study schedule; using study tips; preparing for and taking examinations.
• The Freelance Life
  • Explains the publishing industry; how to identify staff-written and freelance articles, market a freelance product, submit a professional manuscript, and work with agents and editors.

Instruction Set 2

• The Writing Habit, Part 1
  • Explains how to discover ideas from other articles, identify types of freelance articles, recognize the difference between objective and subjective writing and the essential elements of all objective articles, how to recognize the most marketable types of fiction and keep a notebook or journal for writing projects.
• The Writing Habit, Part 2
  • Review basic grammar elements, learn how to distinguish connotation from denotation, increase your vocabulary, use language effectively, critique and revise your own writing, and write a short feature article.
• Supplement: Winning With Words

Instruction Set 3

• The Business of Writing
  • Explains how to generate ideas for articles, understand specialized markets, research markets for your article, write
    a query letter, understand the copyright laws, set up a home office, keep accurate records of correspondence with editors and publishers, and tax receipts.
• Reference Sources for Writers
  • Learn how to use library resources, search the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature and other resources, recognize the available specialized periodical indices, use professional directories to locate expert sources, contact recognized experts for information and/or interviews, and understand the Internet’s resource potential.
• Supplement: Parts of Speech

Instruction Set 4

• Reading for Writers, Parts 1 and 2 (study guide)
  • Learn to identify writing techniques and structural differences in fiction and nonfiction, trace the genesis of a piece of writing from initial concept to completed work, and how to critique others’ work for structure, focus, and market.
• Textbooks:
  • A Pocketful of Prose, Volume II
  • Telling Stories/Taking Risks
• Supplement: Word Usage

Instruction Set 5

• Using the Writer’s Market (study guide)
  • How to quickly find information in the Writer’s Market, understand the terms used in it, how to request writer’s guidelines from publications, locate suitable markets in the guide, and judge the marketability of your work.
• Textbook: Writer’s Market
• Supplement: Sentence Skills

Instruction Set 6

• Becoming a Professional
  • Learn to assemble a writer’s resume, conduct a successful interview, get commissions and assignments from editors, present your manuscript to an editor in a professional manner, supply photographs to accompany articles, guard against accusations of libel, and maintain high ethical and professional standards.
• Becoming a Specialist
  • Discover how to analyze your life and educational experiences, know the requirements of the writing trade and technical publications and house magazines. Learn how and when to specialize in more than one type of freelance writing, how to present editors with credentials qualifying you as an expert in your area, how to discuss your specialty with editors to obtain publication opportunities, and learn what it takes to maintain expertise in your specialty area.
• Supplement: The Elements of Style

Once you’ve reached this point in your studies, you’ll be able to choose an area to specialize in and complete a graded assignment. The assignment will be a short article or story, a proposal, outline, or synopsis for a piece that you could send out for publication.

• These options are available:
• Option 1: Literary Fiction
  • The materials include an introduction to fiction, an overview of children’s literature and the short story, and instructions
    on planning a novel.
• Option 2: Genre Fiction
  • The materials include an introduction to fiction, and an overview of the mystery, science fiction and fantasy,
    romance, and horror genres.
• Option 3: Nonfiction
  • The materials include an introduction to nonfiction, an overview of the essay, feature writing, writing for the media, and writing for business.

Online Library and Librarian
Students in ICS Canada have access to an online library for use during their studies. Students can use this library to do the required research in the courses they complete or can use it for general reference and links to valuable resources. The library contains helpful research assistance, articles, databases, books, and Web links. A librarian is available to answer questions on general research-related topics via email and to assist students in research activities during their studies with ICS Canada.

We reserve the right to change program content and materials when it becomes necessary.